Shubman Gill To Cause Toss Up Between Sanju Samson And Tilak Varma In Asia Cup? India's Predicted XI Hints Towards Massive Shake-Up In T20I Team

India Asia Cup 2025 Squad Announcement: Suryakumar Yadav and the Chairman of Selectors Ajit Agarkar unveiled India's team for the upcoming 2025 edition of the Asia Cup that will be played in the T20 format. SKY retained his role as the skipper of the side, whereas Shubman Gill has been named as his deputy. Shubman Gill, who last played a T20I for India in 2024, will make his return to the side, but his batting position in the team, in the young Indian side, still remains a mystery.

ALSO READ | BCCI Announces India's Squad For Asia Cup 2025, Suryakumar Yadav To Lead The 'Men In Blue', Shubman Gill Named His Deputy

The Curious Case Of Sanju Samson And Tilak Varma

Shubman Gill's sudden inclusion in the Indian T20I team raises a lot of questions as far as the team combination is concerned. Shubman Gill has predominantly been an opener in the white-ball format. The problem with the T20I team is the fact that both Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma have delivered constantly as the openers. Where does that leave Shubman Gill?

It is not just about the openers. India have a very settled top four in T20Is that comprises the likes of Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, and Suryakumar Yadav. Abhishek Sharma is certainly not going to be rested, courtesy of how explosive he is at the top of the order. This leaves only one option for the Indian team management: they either drop Tilak Varma or Sanju Samson to fit Shubman Gill into the scheme of things.

Shubman Gill has also been named as the vice-captain of the Indian T20I team. Now one can easily join the dots and understand that Gautam Gambhir is taking baby steps towards unified captaincy across all formats. Gill, being Suryakumar Yadav's deputy, is a certain starter in India's playing XI. Let's have a look at both the scenarios of how the team management can fit Gill into the Indian side.

• India's Predicted XI if Sanju Samson is rested: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah
• India's Predicted XI if Tilak Varma is rested: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Shubman Gill (VC), Suryakumar Yadav (C), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah

ALSO READ | 'Gautam Gambhir is Jealous of Him': Netizens React After BCCI Snubs Shreyas Iyer From India's Squad For Asia Cup 2025

India's Squad For The Asia Cup

Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh

Travelling Reserves: Prasidh Krishna, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, and Dhruv Jurel

Gill Reaps The Sweet Rewards Of A Stellar IND vs ENG Series

Shubman Gill was nothing but stellar in the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series. The Indian Test captain amassed over 700 runs in the five-match Test series. Gill impressed everybody, not only with his batting, but also with his leadership duties. The Asia Cup, in many ways, will be a dress rehearsal for the Indian team on their road to the World T20, which is scheduled to be played next year.